Acceptance Criteria vs Definition of Done

By Barnaby Golden, 31 May, 2019

Acceptance Criteria

Checklist tick boxes

Acceptance criteria are story-specific requirements that must be met for the story to be completed. They are a technique for adding functional detail to user stories. Acceptance criteria are often added during backlog refinement or during the sprint planning meeting.

Examples of Acceptance Criteria

  • No password longer than 16 characters should be allowed.
  • VAT should be included in all figures.

These acceptance criteria add details to the user story and they also provide a convenient guide for testing the completeness of the story.

Definition of Done

The definition of done is a list of things that need to be completed for any story to be considered done.

The definition of done is agreed upon by the team prior to starting work. It covers what the team feels is necessary to consider any story done.

Examples of Definition of Done

  • Regression testing completed
  • User documentation updated to reflect the new story
  • Seen by and approved by the Product Owner
  • Performance testing benchmark achieved
  • Architecture updated
  • Peer reviewed